TORONTO -- American sports broadcaster ESPN caused the much maligned shot clock malfunction in the Toronto Raptors' opening game of the playoffs.

The day after the Raptors were mocked for the debacle, a Raptors official confirmed that an ESPN technician plugged into the same power source for the shot clocks, frying the power system.

The Raptors had to go old-school, relying on announcer Herbie Kuhn to count down the 24 seconds on each possession after the clocks above the baskets died with 5:57 remaining in the third quarter of Toronto's 94-87 playoff loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

"Let's just put it this way, they're not the worldwide leader in electricians," the Raptors official joked, when reporters probed him for the culprit.

It was a play on ESPN's slogan: "The Worldwide Leader in Sports."

The official later confirmed it was ESPN.

The Raptors were mocked for the incident on social media and by traditional media, including ESPN. The broadcaster showed a split screen of the game, and announcer Herbie Kuhn counting down the seconds while looking at a stopwatch held by the official next to him.